Tag Archive for 'Neo-Assyrian Empire'

A fragment of the 2,600-year-old stone relief from the archaeological site of Nineveh. Image credit: Aaron Schmitt.

2,600-Year-Old Stone Relief Unearthed in Ancient Nineveh

May 13, 2025 by News Staff

The ancient stone relief depicts Ashurbanipal, the ruler of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 699 to 631 BCE, two deities and other figures, according to a...

The 2,900-year-old clay brick from the National Museum of Denmark. Image credit: Arbøll et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-38191-w.

Ancient Plant DNA Extracted from 2,900-Year-Old Assyrian Clay Brick

Aug 22, 2023 by News Staff

Near the river Tigris, outside the ancient city of Kalhu, known today as Nimrud, northern Iraq, a brickmaker once prepared a clay brick for the construction...

Left: Assyrian infantry archer in scale armor depicted in a relief from the south west palace of Sennacherib (reigned 704-681 BCE) in Nineveh. Right: Assyrian cavalry archer in scale armor depicted in a relief from the palace of Assurbanipal (reigned 669-631 BCE) in Nineveh. Image credit: Trustees of the British Museum.

Archaeologists Find 2,700-Year-Old Assyrian-Style Leather Armor in China

Dec 9, 2021 by News Staff

The ancient leather armor, datable to 786-543 BCE, was originally made of about 5,444 smaller scales and 140 larger scales, which, together with leather...

The rise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire occurred during a two-centuries-long interval of anomalously wet climate in the context of the past 4,000 years, while megadroughts during the early-mid 7th century BCE, as severe as recent droughts in the region but lasting for decades, triggered a decline in Assyria’s agrarian productivity and thus contributed to its eventual political and economic collapse. Image credit: Carole Raddato / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Megadroughts Likely Triggered Fall of Neo-Assyrian Empire

Nov 14, 2019 by News Staff

Climate-related megadroughts built the foundation for the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (912 to 609 BCE), the largest and most powerful empire of...

Excavated corner of room with the remains of the Sasanian loom between the wall (top) and a bench of six mudbricks. The round loom weights made from clay are particularly visible, as are slabs of mud once forming some kind of shelving. Image credit: Lanah Haddad.

Archaeologists Unearth Sasanian-Period Loom in Iraq

Nov 8, 2017 by News Staff

A team of Near Eastern archaeology students led by Goethe University Professor Dirk Wicke has uncovered the burnt remains of a Sasanian loom, about 1,500...

Sargon II (reigned 722-705 BC), king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, and dignitary. Low-relief from a wall of the palace of Sargon II at Dur Sharrukin in Assyria, now Khorsabad in Iraq. Image credit: Marie-Lan Nguyen.

Drought, Population Growth Led to Decline of Neo-Assyrian Empire

Nov 6, 2014 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Climatic Change, the Neo-Assyrian Empire was forced into terminal decline by the combination of two factors...

A few of the hundreds of clay tokens unearthed at Ziyaret Tepe, Turkey. Image credit: Ziyaret Tepe Archaeological Project.

Archaeologists Find Neo-Assyrian Administrative Tokens at Ziyaret Tepe

Jul 15, 2014 by News Staff

Archaeological excavations in southeastern Turkey at Ziyaret Tepe – the site of the ancient city Tušhan, a provincial capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire...